a french presidential audience for ge's ceo and a rival bid from germany's siemens. settles a remarkable three-day scramble. hans nichols is in berlin to break down oust him down -- break down alstom's choices. are they going to be open on friday? >> they will not be open until wednesday. they have until then to , oneerate over one bid formal offer. it comes down to one crucial question. here is the ceo of an american company. do you ask for permission from the french government first before putting out that big? jeff himmel had the conversations with alstom. his board has approved it. then the french government got wind of it. today, he has a meeting with french president for an swap along. -- francois hollande. did he oron there is, should he have contacted the french state before he started getting everything in line? what has happened in the meantime, siemens has put together a rival bid. this is an asset swap. siemens would take the energy unit from alstom and give them the train unit. they are prepared to make guarantees for no job cuts for at least three years